Take a Walk On the Wild Side
by ToucheMonAmie
Summary: New fic based on my head canon of Ariel and Red being friends in Fairytale and also Storybrooke. It's set a couple of weeks after Emma breaks the curse but I've chosen to leave out Rumplestiltskin bringing magic back for reasons. Normal text are Storybrooke scenes and italics indicate Fairytale Land scenes. Red Swan is hinted at and may well be developed in the upcoming chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Take a Walk (On the Wild Side)**

**A new fic based on my head canon of Ariel and Red being good friends in Fairytale and also Storybrooke. It's set a couple of weeks after Emma breaks the curse but I've chosen to leave out Rumplestiltskin bringing magic back for reasons. Normal text are Storybrooke scenes and italics indicate Fairytale Land scenes. Title is cheesy as, but other than that I hope you guys enjoy :)**

The young red haired girl rushes into Granny's diner, thrusting her jacket onto the back of a chair at the bar before slumping into. She then sighs loudly before bumping her head onto the counter a little too dramatically.

"Ow. Milfcake. Strawvberry. Pleave." She grumbles into the counter, causing Red to raise her eyebrows in amusement.

"Milkshake? You look like you could use something a little stronger." Red teases, before starting the order.

"Oh, trust me, I could," She replies, lifting her eyes up to meet the waitresses in front of her. "If I could afford it, that is." She adds sheepishly.

Red tuts and rolls her eyes, "What have I told you? _You_ don't have to pay for drinks in here."

The young red haired girl lifts her head up properly at this and smiles at her friends offer but then shakes her head.

"Yeah, the mood I'm in, I'm likely to drink you out of house and home." She counters.

"Hmm, that's true," Red muses. "I forgot you drink like a fish." She adds, biting her bottom lip to stop the hint of a grin from slipping over her lips.

"Ha ha, de ha. Very funny, _teen wolf_." She shoots back.

Red gasps and clutches her right hand to her chest in faux appal. "So, what's got you all wound up today, anyway?" Her tone slightly serious now.

"I'll give you one guess." She sighs, scratching a single fingernail over a stain on the counter.

"The Evil Queen?" Red guesses.

"Nope, the other one."

"Ah, Rumplestiltskin." Red says, nodding her head slowly.

"Uh huh, I'm a month behind on my rent and to say he's not happy is quite the understatement. Thanks." She adds, as Red nudges the milkshake towards her.

"Hmm, there anything you want me to do? Put the fear of God into him?" Red suggests waggling her eyebrows, leaning her elbows onto the counter, resting her head on her palms grinning ear to ear.

"Ha, iv onwy," The young girl says through a mouth full of milkshake, causing Red to scrunch up her nose. Her friends eating and drinking habits had always been somewhat lacking. "No, I think I'm just gonna have to think of something else. Something a little less _violent_ anyway. "

Red pouts at that, "Spoilsport."

At the entrance of a certain Storybrooke resident however Red's head jerks up and a broad smile forms on her lips.

"Hey Sheriff Swan," Red chimes. "Can I get you your usual, grilled cheese sandwich?"

The young red haired girl rolls her eyes and sighs at Red's eagerness to serve the sheriff. Red's lack of subtlety had always given her endless opportunities to tease her in the past but she was well aware that her friend could also give as good as she could.

"My usual?" Emma repeats, a slightly concerned look on her face. "Am I really that predictable?" She adds laughing, taking a seat one down from Red's friend.

"Oh! No, no no. I'm just really good at remembering people's orders, that's all." Red explains, a light blush appearing on her cheeks, causing the girl with the milkshake to snort at her friends sudden flustered state, earning herself a swift scowl from the waitress.

"Ah, right." Emma says, nodding slowly, as she eyes the two younger girls suspiciously, "Well, how's about I mix it up a little today then? What else you got on the menu? Sandwich-wise that is, I don't wanna go too crazy. It is only a Tuesday after all."

"Oh, well, we have ham and pickle, ham and salad, chicken salad, turkey and cranberry or tuna melt." Red says, counting them off on her fingers. "Oh, although, I guess you probably won't want tuna melt…" Red trails off glancing at her friend with the milkshake.

The sheriff looks at Red expectantly after her rather vague discouraging of the tuna melt.

"It's fine, really." The young red haired girl says laughing. "The sheriff can have what she wants, I'm off now anyway, I've got an appointment with the Devil himself." She announces, grabbing her jacket off the back of her seat.

Emma shoots a worried glance at Red, who simply mouths 'Rumplestiltskin'.

"Ah." Emma nods. "Hey, if he's causing you any bother, I could always have a word." Emma suggests.

"No no, it's fine. But that's very kind of you to offer Sheriff. I can see why Red likes you so much. I'll catch you both later." She chimes, grinning ear to ear, before swiftly exiting the restaurant leaving a beetroot-red Red and a bemused Sheriff behind.

"Who was that?" Emma asks, indicating towards the door with her thumb.

"Well," Red sighs. " You might have known her as Amelia Maris but more likely you'll probably know her as…Ariel."

Emma's eyebrows shoot up in disbelief at that admission, "Ariel? As in The Little Mermaid, Ariel?"

"The one and only." Red chimes, grinning.

"Jeez, now I'm really glad I didn't order that tuna melt." Emma says, shaking her head, smiling as Red laughs.

"Yeah, that would have been a little awkward." Red says grinning. "You might have seen her shop actually. It's the little pet store just past Archie's place, 'Under The Sea'?"

"Under The Sea? Really?" Emma replies almost sceptically.

"Uh huh. Regina may be evil but she sure has a _wicked _sense of human when it comes to screwing with people's lives." Red says.

"I don't know about that." Emma replies quietly.

"Oh Emma. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" Red starts, before Emma interrupts, waving her off. "How are Snow and James?" Red adds tentatively.

"Honestly?" Emma says, looking up into the brunette's eyes opposite her. " I…I don't know. I mean, I'd love to say that they're back to normal but I have _no_ idea what normal is anymore."

Emma flinches slightly at the sudden unexpected contact as Red gives her hand a squeeze. Normally the sheriff would have brushed any sentimentalities off but instead she lets the waitress keep her hand on hers. Emma smiles then as she notices the unordered hot chocolate, complete with cinnamon sprinkles, standing on the counter in front of her.

"Does anybody in this town." Red says, with a sad smile. "You know, if you ever need anyone to talk to about…all this, or Snow or James ever need anything you know you only have to ask. I'm always here."

Emma looks up from her hot chocolate and smiles, regarding the brunette in front of her for a moment.

"Thanks, Rub-, gah, _Red_…I really appreciate that, I do." Emma says, stirring her hot chocolate absentmindedly.

"You're _very_ welcome." Red says, before indicating to another diner who's ready to order. 'Go on' Emma mouths before taking a much awaited sip of her hot drink.

_The young mermaid watches in complete awe from her favourite spot on the shore at the sight of the bright and colourful showers raining in the nights sky, never flinching once at the foreign sounds of whooshing and banging from above. She listens eagerly to the singing from the sailors as they pass by, sighing heavily at their obliviousness to her existence, despite the fact that she has made this a yearly ritual of hers. She longs to join in with them, to sing with them, to do anything to end this agonising segregation. But that, Ariel knows, is out of the question. Her father has warned her many a time of the cruel men above sea but Ariel cannot fathom from the sight in front of her, that these men, so high in spirits and full of joy could ever mean her any harm._

"_Quite the display, isn't it?" A voice Ariel doesn't recognise asks._

_Ariel gasps at the sudden appearance of a rather flamboyantly dressed stranger, although it is not his attire that almost causes her to slip from her favourite rock but his sudden appearance itself. Nobody, not one person has Ariel ever seen at her 'spot' as she refers to it to her friends._

"_Oh my," Ariel starts to say, laughing nervously. "You startled me!" She adds, placing a hand over her racing heart ._

_The stranger smiles in apology, "I'm very sorry, deary. I didn't mean to scare you! I only thought you looked like you needed some company." He says, his voice high and dramatic._

_Ariel places both of her hands flat onto the rock to steady her as she feels her whole body trembling at the thought of actually spending time with someone from above sea._

"_Oh! That's ever so kind of you but I don't even know your name." Ariel says frowning slightly._

"_Oh, we'll have time for proper introductions later." He says, with a flamboyant waver of his head."But first things first, deary, I think I may have a little something to turn that _frown, upside down." _He adds with an emphatic shake of his head._

_Ariel cannot help but laugh at his enthusiasm, "Well that's very kind of you but you already have, see?" She says, grinning._

"_Oh, that was nothing my love. I mean a real solution. A solution to your, er, _fishy _problems." He adds, wrinkling his nose and indicating to Ariel's tail, as she begins to frown again in confusion._

"_I…I don't understand what you mean." Ariel says naively._

_The stranger smiles at her innocence, "What if I told you, deary, that I could make _all _your dreams come true?" He says, a small turquoise tear-shaped bottle appearing in his hand. "With just two swigs of this. Imagine it, lovely, you could have adventures beyond your wildest dreams out here in the real world."_

_Ariel's eyes flick up from the bottle to his face, "You mean, on land? I'd be like a, a real person?"_

_He smiles down at her and nods his head up and down in a dramatic fashion, "A really real person. So, I'll take that as a yes then?" He says, leaning down to hand the bottle to Ariel._

_She reaches out to take it before hesitating, "But, if I'm up here, that means I can never go back to the sea, can I? I'll never see my family again or my friends."_

_The stranger stiffens slightly at her sudden reluctance, a false smile plastered across his face, "Then you make new ones!" He announces."But if you don't want it…" He trails off, pulling away from the mermaid, "I know of another mermaid or two that would snatch this up before I could say…"_

"_Really?" Ariel interjects._

"_Really, really. So if you don't want it I better be off, I've got merpeople to see and places to be, this is a onetime thing you know."_

"_Then I'll take it!" Ariel says frantically, reaching up to take the bottle from the stranger. He smiles down malevolently at her but Ariel is oblivious, staring in wonderment at the tiny bottle in her hand._

"_This will really do it? I'll really able to walk and everything?" She asks earnestly._

"_Of course it will!" He replies, as a hand flies to his chest, sounding almost offended at her slight scepticism. "What do you take me for?"_

_But his words are wasted on her as she pops off the cork stopper and licks her lips before take a delicate sip of the potion in her hand._

"_Bottoms up!" The stranger sing songs, as Ariel swallows the first mouthful._

_At first Ariel feels nothing but then as sudden as the strangers arrival, she begins to feel a tingling at the end of her tail._

"_Oh, oh it's tingling. Is it supposed to do that?" She asks, her concern evident in her voice._

"_Absolutely! All the best things in life start with a _tingle_." He replies, with a wolfish grin. "Now the second swig and we're all done." Nodding to the bottle still in her hand._

"_Oh, of course." She says, before draining the last of the bottle._

_The water around her starts to change from blue to purple and Ariel's eyes widen in fear, as her mouth falls open._

"_This that supposed to happen too?" Ariel cries._

"_Yes, yes." He replies, barely containing the annoyance in his voice at having to reassure her again. "That just means it's working."_

"_Oh, it is, it really is!" Ariel says, as she starts to tread the water with her newly formed feet. "Ha ha, feet! I have feet!"_

"_Well, I should think so, deary. You wouldn't get very far without them now, would you?" The stranger says, tutting and rolling his eyes._

_The transformation is almost complete when Ariel opens her mouth to thank the stranger, but no words form. Ariel's brow knits in confusion at her lack of ability to speak._

"_Oh deary, didn't you know? All magic comes with a price."Rumplestiltskin says with an impish grin, before vanishing, leaving nothing but a swirl of purple smoke behind him._

**A/N: 'Maris' is a variation of the Latin for 'sea', just in case you were wondering where I got her surname from, cause I'm extremely nerdy like that :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Yeah, so this took me a _lot_ longer to finish than I'd planned :/ My parents have been redecorating and muggins here got roped into helping. This chapter is actually slightly shorter than the last but don't worry because I'm planning to write four chapters now instead of three. Anywho, I really hope you guys enjoy and thank you so much to everyone who read/liked/reblogged chapter one. You're all little stars *squishes your faces***

"So," Emma begins to say, peering into the shop window. "When you said she owned a pet store, I thought you meant like a _real_ pet store." She says, frowning at the seemingly endless rows of fish tanks inside.

Red scoffs and hits her playfully on the arm. "It _is_ a real pet store. It's just an 'aquatic specialist' pet store." She explains, air quoting the last part. "And don't let Ariel hear you say that, she may seem sweet and innocent but that girl's got a wild streak." Red adds, laughing.

"Hmm, you're one to talk." Emma shoots back, grinning, earning herself a narrow eyed scowl from Red. "Sorry. So, what exactly are you planning on saying to him?" She sighs, glancing at Red.

Red looks back into the shop window as she notices Ariel coming out from the shops backroom. "Whatever needs to be said to get him off her back." She replies, watching Ariel dance around the room feeding her fish.

"Okay," Emma says, slowly, studying Red's face. "Wait, is she? Is she actually singing to those fish?" She then adds, as the mermaid in question catches her attention.

"Uh huh, she tends to do that. A lot." Red replies, laughing. "You do remember who we're talking about here, right?" Red sighs. "Oh well, after you Sheriff." She adds, gesturing to the shop door.

"No no, after you, Miss Lucas." Emma says, grinning, gesturing to the shop door herself, causing Red to laugh.

"Why thank you, good sir." Red replies, nodding and smiling, before pushing the door open and being met with a squeal from Ariel.

Red's eyebrows shoot up in question. "Hey, I know I'm the big bad wolf but surely I'm not that scary in human form." She says, jokingly.

Ariel sighs heavily, clutching her hand to her chest. "I thought you were Rumplestiltskin!" She hisses at Red.

"Oh, gee, thanks." Red huffs.

"You know what I mean." Ariel says, pulling a face at Red. "He's going to be here any minute. What are doing here?" She asks, placing the tub of food on a shelf next to the nearest tank.

"I just thought you might need some help." Red explains, smiling.

Ariel eyes her suspiciously. "Help? With the fish? Fish freak you out." Ariel states, narrowing her eyes at Red.

Red laughs nervously, glancing at Emma who simply grins back at her. "No they don't." Red scoffs. "I like you don't I?" She adds, in a playful tone.

"Hmm, ever the charmer." Ariel mutters, rolling her eyes. "Come on then, why are you really here?"

Red begins to smile sheepishly at that. "Well, it's like you said. Rumplestiltskin's going to be here any minute and…"

Ariel sighs at that. "I'm fine Red. Really. I can handle myself. And I can handle…Rumplestiltskin." She tries to protest, just as she spots Rumplestiltskin himself walking past the shop window.

"Well, well. What have we here?" Rumplestiltskin says, as he walks into the shop, noticing Red and Emma. "The werewolf, the swan and the mermaid. Now doesn't that sound like the beginning of a good joke?" He adds, smiling.

"Well, _Rumples_, shockingly, we're not here for the comedy hour. We're here to talk business." Emma says.

Rumplestiltskin laughs. "_Business_, Miss Swan? What _business _could you possibly want to talk to me about?"

"Ariel's business. More specifically, last month's rent, _which_, unless you're not particularly fond of your legs or your arms, you're going to let her off with." Red says, eyes narrowed at Rumplestiltskin.

Rumplestiltskin scoffs, "Well, that doesn't sound much like business talk to me. In fact, that sounded suspiciously like a threat, don't you agree, _Sheriff_?" He says, tilting his head in Emma's direction.

"I didn't hear anything." Emma says, pursing her lips and shaking her head.

"Ah, so that's how it is." Rumplestiltskin nods slowly at that, smiling. "So, Miss Lucas, you want me to let our little friend off with a month's rent _just_ because you say so?"

"Yeah. And you're going to." Red warns.

Ariel glances nervously between Rumplestiltskin and Red. "Red, you don't have to…"

"No, I'm not scared of him." Red says, "Not anymore."

Rumplestiltskin sighs before looking pointedly at Ariel "Ok."

"What?" Ariel breathes.

"I said, O. K. Who am I to argue with a werewolf?" He explains, with a breezy tone. "Especially with one as ferocious as your friend. I mean, if she eats her own _lovers_, then God knows what she does to her enemies." He adds, with a mock shudder, evoking a flash of gold to pass over Red's irises.

Emma and Ariel react instantly as Red growls and lunges at Rumplestiltskin, barely just grabbing her back between the both of them.

"You. Out. Now." Emma shouts breathlessly at Rumplestiltskin, struggling to keep her grip on the furious brunette in her arms.

Rumplestiltskin tuts, "She tries to attack _me_ and _I'm_ the one getting thrown out." He says, shaking his head before turning round to leave the shop. "Oh, but one more thing, Ariel, deary." He adds, turning back to her. "Just remember, nobody breaks a deal with me. _Nobody_."

"Well that went better than expected." Emma huffs, scrambling to get out of the shop after Red, who starts to make a beeline straight for Granny's. "Red. Red!"

Red doesn't stop at Emma's calls but only quickens her pace as she feels the tears start to well.

"Leave me, Emma!" She warns, not bothering to look at the approaching blonde behind her. "Didn't you hear him? I'm a killer!" She spits, before halting in the street, her body shaking with her wracking sobs.

She turns slowly to look at Emma, who hesitates for half a heartbeat before doing something neither women are prepared for. She simply wraps her arms around Red, awkwardly resting her head on the taller girls shoulders. Red stiffens at the unexpected contact before sighing into the embrace. After a moment of silence, Red eventually breaks away.

"I…I have to get back to Granny's." Red states simply, wiping her eyes with the back of her hands, standing back awkwardly from Emma.

Emma smiles wanly. "Red, she said you had till two. It's only just gone one now. Come on, you're coming back to Snow's with me. And I'm not taking no for an answer." She adds, as Red beings to protest. "I mean it, come on. You said yourself, if I ever needed anyone talk to…so, I'm just returning the favour. In advance. Come on, I'll make us some bad coffee, burn us some toast," She adds smiling, as Red begins to laugh. "And we can talk. Or not. Whatever you want."

Red glances up at Emma, wiping the last of her tears with the back of her hand again and smiles. "Ok. Bad coffee and burnt toast sounds good to me."

_The wolf lowers herself ever so slowly into the tall grass, inching closer and closer to the ground, before she feels the cool, damp grass on her chest. This part of the woods has long been a favourite of hers for her midnight runs and hunting attempts. The area had never been short on prey and yet had somehow evaded the attention of human hunters. She blinks slowly, peering through the tall grass at her prey. Silently, she extends her paws further forward, scuffing the mud gently, edging herself ever so slightly towards the rabbit. _

_She is so close now, his scent growing stronger, minged with the nights rain and a faint scent of smoke from a far off fire. She is so close now, she can even hear his heartbeat. The relaxed _lub, lub, lub, _of his heart is_ _a sure sign of his ignorance to her presence. The rabbit continues to gnaw idly at a patch of grass, completely oblivious to the impending danger a mere couple of feet away. But now, this is the hardest part. So many times before she has lost a kill by leaping too early or by attempting to get too close. The anticipation of the kill rises however, as her own heartbeat begins to pound. She can hear the rushing of blood in her ears as her haunches begin to tremble as she starts to push off from the ground, achingly slowly. _

Not yet, not yet, _she scolds herself. As close as she is, the rabbit has turned to face her right on, its attention caught by something. If she leaps now, he'll see her before he hears her. _Turn around, _she wills the rabbit silently, _turn around. _Then, she hears it. Footsteps. She probably hears them before the rabbit but it is no good, hi s ears have pricked up and he is off, bounding away, as the footsteps grow louder. The wolf snarls in defeat and a flash of annoyance crosses her features as the footsteps grow louder still, before the owner of those said footsteps comes tumbling through the clearing, stopping dead in her tracks. _

_She should have ran, she knows she should have with a human approaching but instead she stands there dumbstruck at the sight before her. A girl. A young girl, six-and- ten perhaps, eight-and-ten at most. A girl with not a stitch of clothing on her. The wolf feels her heart begin to beat faster again, as the blood rushes to her cheeks. And for a moment, which feels more like an eternity, the girl and the wolf stand there, their eyes never leaving the others. _

_Steely gold eyes stare in disbelief, met by watery blue ones. _Run, run! _Her instincts scream at her. But the girl has been crying, the wolf can see and so, despite herself, she starts to edge slowly towards her. The girls eyes widen at that but she does not attempt to move. The wolf flattens her ears and lowers her head but her eyes never leave the girls, as she approaches her, stopping a foot in front of her. The girl reaches out her right hand but hesitates for a heartbeat before slowly extending it towards the wolf, gently placing it at the side of the her face. _

_The wolf closes her eyes slowly, sighing into the touch, as the girl begins to scratch at her jaw. The girl huffs out what the wolf can only take for a laugh, as she opens her eyes looking up at her. The girl looks down at her smiling, her head tilted slightly to the side but when their eyes meet again the girl awkwardly starts to take her hand away from the wolf. Without thinking, the wolf licks lazily at her hand and the girl huffs out a laugh again, evoking the wolfs own mouth to open, her tongue lolling out in a awkward wolfish grin. And so they stand like that again, for a moment, as the wolf studies the girl quizzically, her head tilted slightly as she merely blinks back at her, smiling. They stand like that until the wolf hears it. One sharp blast of the hunters horn. _


	3. Chapter 3

**Sweet Mary Margaret mother of Emma, this one was a nightmare to write. I literally don't even know what my feelings were doing after writing this one :S Massive apologies for the lateness in updating again, I swear I don't do it on purpose :P Like I said, I'm not really sure how I feel about this chapter, especially the Storybrooke scene, oh my God, the Storybrooke scene! Anywho, I hope you guys enjoy anyway and a huge thanks again for those who read, liked, reblogged, reviewed the last chapter. I seriously love you all! **

**The Storybrooke scene carries on where it left off last chapter and the Fairytale Land scene is set the morning after.**

"Oh, wow." Red says laughing, placing the back of her left hand to her lips. "You really weren't kidding when you said you made bad coffee."

Red places the coffee cup in her hand gently onto the small table in front of her, before shifting herself backwards on the couch next to Emma.

"Hey!" Emma whines, indignantly. "It's not my fault I'm not a domestic Goddess like you."

Red begins to laugh at that but shakes her head in protest. "I doubt that! I only work in a diner." She says, feeling her cheeks warming at Emma's words. "And I'm certainly no Goddess. And I'm not sure 'domestic' springs to mind when talking about myself." She adds, chuckling to herself.

Emma laughs at that and they sit there for a moment in silence, smiling to themselves. It's not an uncomfortable silence, both of them note, but an unusual moment of just _being_ with one another and knowing they can just be themselves. In the end, it is Emma who finally breaks the silence. She glances across to Red who has reached for her cup again, tentatively taking another sip of coffee.

"Can I…can I ask you something?" Emma says quietly, her tone slightly serious.

Red swallows her coffee slowly and turns her head to Emma but doesn't meet her eyes. She smiles wanly and sighs, finally looking up at the blonde next to her.

"I thought you might want to." Red states simply, feeling herself tensing at the impending question, as she places her cup back onto the table.

When Red says nothing else, Emma continues. "Are you _really_ freaked out by fish?" She says, her tone unusually serious, despite the silliness of the question.

Red can't help but bark out a laugh at Emma's question but she also can't help but feel a wash of relief flow over her. Emma, who's laughing herself now, reaches for her own cup and raises her eyebrows pointedly at Red, prompting her to answer her question.

"That's really what you wanted to ask me? Of all the things you heard before?" Red says, incredulously. When Emma nods, grinning, as she takes a delicate sip of coffee, Red continues, sighing. "Fine. If you must know, yes, I get a little bit…_squeamish,_ around fish." Red admits, before shaking her head at the ridiculousness of all this.

Emma places her cup back onto the table laughing before turning back to Red. "How? I don't understand." She says, laughing harder as Red simply rolls her eyes. "How can someone, with one of their best friends as the little mermaid, possibly be afraid of fish?"

"I didn't say I was afraid of them!" Red huffs, laughing despite herself. "I just said I get a bit squeamish around them. They have _really_ horrible eyes, and mouths, mouths that look like they're going to just_…swallow_ you whole! And besides, Ariel isn't even a fish, not really. First time I met her, she didn't even have a tail."

Emma laughs at that. "Come to think of it, why _doesn't _Ariel have a tail?" Emma asks, her features suddenly screwed up in confusion.

Red sighs, remembering the night she had found Ariel alone in the woods behind her and Granny's cottage, with not a stitch of clothing on her. "Rumplestiltskin." Red says slowly, empathising every syllable.

"Huh, I should have known." Emma says, pursing her lips. "He certainly does make a habit of making mischief."

"He certainly does." Red agrees, nodding her head slowly.

"So, how did you two meet anyway?" Emma asks, glancing across at Red.

"Erm, well, I was out hunting one night when I came across her." Red replies, staring at the coffee cup in front of her, thinking back to the night she had first found her. "It mustn't have been long after he transformed her actually. When I found her she was all alone in the woods. She couldn't even talk. Which, later, me and Granny worked out to be a of part of his _deal_ with her."

Red can feel the anger inside of herself rising just thinking about how he'd abandoned her after transforming her. She flinches slightly at the sudden unexpected contact, as Emma tentatively places her right hand over her own, which are resting on her lap.

"Hey, you ok there?" Emma asks quietly, visibly worried by Red's sudden silence.

Red shakes her head, trying to clear her thoughts and sighs. "I'm sorry. I just get so annoyed when I think about it. Ironically, though, I guess if it weren't for him, we probably would never have met. I mean, it's funny, you know, it's almost as if we were _meant _to be friends. Here she is, a mermaid, and then, well…me." Red smiles wistfully at the memory before continuing. "She couldn't even talk, and yet, there was this…I don't know, unspoken bond between us. We just _understood_ each other, in a way others didn't . I know that must sound stupid." Red says, smiling sadly. "I mean, don't get me wrong," Red adds quickly. "Your Mother will always be my best friend. She helped me when I had no one else and I'll _always_ be grateful to her for that."

Emma laughs at that. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna make you choose between the two. But, that unspoken bond you said, that sounds nice." She adds, smiling. "I think I'd like to have something like that."

Red smiles back at Emma before subtly glancing down at the hand still resting on her own. Her smile widens and they sit like that again in a comfortable silence for a few moments. This time however, it is Red who finally breaks the silence as her smile falters.

"What Rumplestiltskin said before…" Red begins to say quietly, still looking down at her hands.

Emma looks up at her, slightly taken aback as breaks their silence. "Red, you don't have to…" She starts to say before Red gives her a chance to continue.

"It's true." Red breathes, finally looking at Emma. "I…I had gone to him, to try and find a potion, to hopefully forget something, something _terrible_." She continues, closing her eyes to try and stave off the tears that are threatening.

Emma watches Red as she tries to compose herself, gently squeezing her hand as a silent reassurance. When Emma doesn't say anything, Red presses on quietly.

"He did have something. Something he said that would help me forget everything. But, it didn't work. I…I guess the wolf part of me wasn't ready to forget." Red says, with a sad, hollow laugh.

Emma remains quiet at Red's side and studies her features, as the tears Red has tried in vain to stop, begin to fall, making slow trails down her cheeks.

"What happened?" Emma says, her voice quiet and croaky, from finally speaking.

Red sighs shakily and glances back down to her hands. "There was this boy. Peter. He was the blacksmith's boy and we, sort of, had _something_ between us. Granny took an instant dislike to him though." Red begins, smiling wanly at the memory of him. "She'd always try and keep us apart, try and keep me inside. During Wolfstime one year though, the wolf had been particularly making its presence felt. Sheep, goats even horses had been taken by it. So, that year a hunting party had formed to try and rid the village of it once and for all."

Red swallows heavily, taking in a shaky breath before continuing. "That year however, was when I met your mother. I found her out in the chicken coop one morning, she'd been hiding from the wolf. She was trying to steal our eggs." Red adds, laughing quietly at the memory before she explains to Emma how they'd decided to track down the wolf and had found half wolf, half boot prints leading to her cottage window.

"I'd remembered a story I'd heard about a creature that was half wolf, half man during full moons. And what with Peter having been coming to my window at night, we thought it was him. I thought Peter was the wolf." Red says, her voice barely a whisper, tears falling more freely now. "Later that night, I told Peter I thought he was the wolf. And so, in order to stop him from hurting anyone else, I…I used chains to tie him to a tree out in the woods. But of course, when the moon was full, Peter _didn't_ change. I did." Red breathes, her body shaking from the force of her tears. "I…I killed him. I killed Peter."

Emma wraps her left arm around Red, pulling her towards her, resting her chin on Red's shoulder.

"Red, you can't blame yourself for what happened. You weren't you!" Emma huffs out against Red's cheek.

Red pulls back at that. "But it was me! No matter what anyone says, _I _killed Peter. He's dead because of _me_!"

Emma shakes her head in protest , struggling to keep a hold on her own emotions , as tears threaten in her own eyes. "Red, look at me." Emma pleads, taking her right hand from Red's to slowly turn her gaze to her own, as her hand gently cups her cheek."You are _not_ a killer. You hear me? You are not a bad person. You are kind, and you are gentle and you are loving. And you should never, _never_ blame yourself for what happened to Peter." Emma breathes, her own eyes glistening now with unshed tears.

They sit there then, again, in silence, for half a heartbeat, before Emma Swan does something for the second time that day that takes both of them by surprise. She leans in tentatively towards Red, and, when Red makes no sign of protesting, she finally closes the gap between them. At first, Emma hesitates, not knowing what to expect. Then, when she feels Red deepening the kiss, she begins to smile into it, sliding her hand to the back of Red's neck. At that, however, Red pulls back quickly.

"I'm sorry." Emma blurts out immediately, swallowing heavily as she snatches her hand away from Red awkwardly. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…" But before she has a chance to finish, Red silences her with a quick, misplaced kiss, as her hand reaches up to Emma's cheek to steady herself.

Red, once again, deepens the kiss, as she rashly lowers Emma down against the arm of the couch. Emma, slightly taken aback by Red's sudden forcefulness, groans into the kiss, allowing Red to deepen the kiss further as she licks against Emma's lower lip. Red's rashness has left her now as they continue with slow languid kisses. Emma's hands snake around Red's sides and up her back, her fingertips just resting at Red's shoulders. They stay like this for what seems like an eternity, but when Red pulls away again quickly, if feels to Emma like no time at all has passed.

"I shouldn't have…I shouldn't have done that." Red breathes, sitting up straight now, her voice heavy from their first rough, imperfect kisses.

Emma starts to protest as Red rises from the couch. "I… I thought this was what you wanted. What we _both_ wanted." Emma says quietly, frowning.

Red turns to meet Emma's gaze, smiling wistfully. "It was. It _is. _But, us…" Red says, looking away from Emma. "It can't happen, can it? Not really. Not with Snow and James."

Emma's frown deepens, "What's it got to with them? I'm a grown woman, I can be with whoever I want." Emma protests desperately, as Red begins to shake her head, smiling wanly at Emma.

"I'm supposed to be their friend. Snow's _best_ friend. I can't, I can't do that to them. As much as it'll hurt me not to be with you, I can't imagine how hurt they'd be if I betrayed them like that. I'm sorry, Emma." Red says, in a tone that leaves no room for a reply.

Red slowly lowers her head, not looking at Emma before making for the door. She hesitates, sighing heavily, as her hand rests awkwardly on the door knob. "I'm so sorry, Emma." She says one last time.

"_Red! So help me God, I swear if you keep sloping off into the middle of the night, then you're going the right way to giving me heart failure!" Granny yells, from the front room of their cottage._

_Red groans and rolls over in the tangle of bed sheets, pulling them up over her head, trying in vain to drown out Granny's rant to no success due to her unfortunate extra sensitive hearing. She sighs heavily, trying to remember the events of last night. Her thoughts are always a little foggy after a full moon but her upper arms and thighs are aching, a clear indication of a good nights run._

"_Red! I know you can hear me! You're mother used to do this to me too. Go running off into the night like some wild woman and stalk back in in the morning with her tail between her legs. You need to be careful about this. You can't just go waltzing off when you feel like, you know. That's how _they _got her in the end." Granny sighs, finally lowering her voice as she stops just outside Red's room. "Red, I just…I couldn't help _her_ in the end. But by God, I won't let the same thing happen to you. You hear me?"_

_Red slowly lowers the bed sheets from around her head, before sitting bolt upright in bed, remembering something from last night._

"_Help her." Red repeats slowly, as Granny's words evoke a memory from the previous night. "I've got to help her!" She adds, leaping off the bed to her door, swinging it open to find a startled Granny on the other side._

"_What the…Red? Red, what's going on?" Granny demands, staring wide eyed at Red, as she stumbles past her, gathering up her hood from off the chair in the front room._

"_Oh! Clothes! I'm going to have to get her clothes." Red says frantically to herself as another part of last night comes into focus._

_Granny steps in front of her just before she backtracks into her bedroom, grabbing her by the upper arms._

"_Red, what the hell is going on? What is it? Who needs help?" Granny asks, worried by Red's sudden erratic behaviour._

"_A girl. There was a girl last night. In the woods." Red tries to explain, the events of last night finally becoming clearer to her. She shrugs out of Granny's grip before looking for some suitable clothes for the girl._

_Granny's face screws up in confusion at that. "A girl? Last night, in the woods? Alone? What are the clothes for?" Granny asks finally, as Red holds up a plain white tunic to herself._

_Red pauses as she feels a light blush wash over her cheeks at the memory of the naked girl. "She, well, she didn't have her own." Red states, not looking at Granny, as she finds some boots and a bag to carry the clothes in._

"_You mean she was…" Granny says, before stopping herself when she realises what she's about to say._

_Red turns around to her laughing, stuffing the clothes into the small satchel. "Uh huh. As the day she was born."_

_Red swings the satchel over her shoulder before starting to make her way to the cottage door again._

"_Well what are _you _planning on doing? You can't just bring a naked girl back to the cottage." Granny exclaims._

_Red turns back to her and smiles. "Well that's what the clothes are for, silly."_

_Granny purses her lips at that. "Well I hope you're not planning on making this a regular thing. Bringing home waifs and strays all the time." Granny huffs, folding her arms over her chest._

_Red laughs at that. "Granny," Red chides gently. "She needs my help. And she's not a waif or a stray. And neither was Snow for that matter." Red continues, raising her eyebrows pointedly at Granny. _

_Granny sighs, unfolding her arms. "Fine. But she can only stay for the one night. I'm not running an inn here." Granny exhales, knowing Red would only go and find the girl no matter what she said. _

_Red squeals at that and grabs Granny into a tight hug before uttering a 'Thank you' and making her way out of the cottage to find the girl from last night._

_After all that she'd been through after finding out about who and what she was, Red knows she would be lying if she didn't think that it certainly was useful in some situations, and finding lost girls in woods was certainly one of those situations. Red only hopes that after she had taken off last night when the hunting party had sounded their warning, that they _had_ actually followed her and not had stumbled upon the girl. She retraces her steps as best she can, which, being one half wolf means she is pretty damn accurate. _

_Within a few minutes of entering the woods Red has picked up on her own scent from last night, following it eagerly as she makes her way back to where she had first came upon the girl from last night. Further into the woods, when the trees begin to clear, she catches it. Salt. The unmistakable scent of the girl from last night that proves she is close. Very close. Red smiles slowly to herself, before quickening her pace, nose slightly turned skywards, her head weaving slowly from side to side._

This is it_, she thinks. _She has to be close, she has to be. _Red feels her heartbeat begin to quicken as the anticipation of finding the girl from last night begins to rise. Red continues forward, peering into the distance for any sign of the girl. She's almost at a run, when she finally spots it. A flash of reddish-orange, glaringly out of place in the green-brown contrast of the woods. She slows immediately when she realises the girl, who is curled at the base of a large elm tree, is fast asleep. _

_Red laughs quietly to herself, head tilted to the side, as she regards the sleeping girl for a moment. Then when the reality of the situation finally dawns on her, she begins to frown slowly. _Well this is going to be awkward_, she muses, biting at her bottom lip. _Just how exactly _does_ one go about waking a naked girl in the middle of a forest. _Red sighs heavily, closing her eyes, trying to contemplate all of the possible scenarios in her head. Then, when she finally opens her eyes, she is taken a back to find a pair of terrified blue ones staring straight back at her._

"_Oh!" Red squeaks, not knowing where to look."I…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you, I just…I brought you some clothes." Red continues, indicating to the satchel, which she quickly pulls off her shoulder._

_The girl merely stares back for a moment before looking down at herself, as if only realising for the first time she is naked._

"_It's not much." Red explains, suddenly feeling slightly embarrassed at having only brought the one faded tunic and a pair of worn leather boots."But I guess it's better than nothing." She adds, laughing nervously._

_When the girl makes no indication of moving again, Red slowly begins to approach her, holding out the tunic before her._

"_Here." Red says, gently. "Why don't you try it on?"_

_At this, the red haired girl begins to slowly rise from the ground, using the bough of the tree to steady herself. She delicately takes a step forward, reaching tentatively for the garment in Red's hands, before losing her balance and stumbling straight into Red, who, due to her lightening quick reflects, catches her by her upper arms, steadying her firmly, but gently._

"_Hey, hey. Are you ok? Are you hurt?" Red asks, visibly panicked by the girls sudden stumble._

_The red haired girl looks up at Red slowly, shaking her head but even as she does so, tears begin to well in her eyes. _

"_Hey, don't cry. It's going to be ok, I promise. Come on, let's get you dressed. Then we can get you back to Granny's. You look like you need a good hearty meal." Red says, frowning at the thinness of the girl in front of her._

_Red then gently helps the girl into the tunic, her frown deepening when she realises it is far too long on her, as their height difference would have suggested. _Oh well_, she thinks, _it's _definitely_ better thannothing_. Red then helps the girl into the soft leather boots, which again are much too big for her. _

"_I guess they'll just have to do for now." Red says, biting at her bottom lip, trying to hold back a grin at the bizarre sight in front of her._

_The red haired girl looks down at her tunic, before lifting her arms up, flapping the excess material of her sleeves. Red can't hold it in any more, as a laugh bursts from her lips which is quickly joined by a giggle from the girl in front of her._

"_Well," Red sighs, between laughter. "At least you're feeling better. Come on, I know just what you need now."_


End file.
